Society Today – March meeting

The State of Education Today. With our education system under extreme pressure to deliver despite significant budget cuts, Jill North led this group’s analysis of all levels of learning in England. She noted that courses were being cut, and even some subjects dropped, to try to balance the books and pressures were even affecting parents. Some felt exam stress as well as their children and felt it necessary to downsize home and move closer to those preferred next schools. The Prime Minister’s focus is now grammar schools but the group felt that these were not always beneficial, drawing off talent from other established schools. Even universities seem to be suffering, having to raise tuition fees and lecturers being diverted from the classroom to undertake research to earn departmental funding. The group then reflected on their own schooldays, deciding that despite the greater discipline, they enjoyed a greater variety of subjects and had a better opportunity to gain important lifeskills – hence they remain the good old days! Our April meeting on April 13th will be on the topic of ‘The State of our Prisons Today’. Tom Gilmore.